Included among the Overcyns are
• Bragi—god of poetry, consort to Idnn. Mentioned in spell to turn ghosts visible.
• Forcetti—god of law, Forseti. Probably second (or third) generation, being son of Baldr in Norse myth.
• Frigg—fertility goddess, she is the Valfather’s queen and mother of Thunor. First generation.
• Idnn—Idun, guardian of the apples of youth. Second generation Overcyn, since she seems to be sister to the Lady.
• the Lady—Freyja. Second generation, youngest daughter of the Valfather.
• Ler—sea god (Celtic, not Æsir).
• Lothur—the name of Odin’s brother (first generation), but this character is said to be the youngest son of the Valfather (second generation).
• Nerthis—fertility goddess who lives in Mythgarthr.
• Ran—sea goddess.
• Sif—Thunor’s wife. Probably second generation.
• Thunor—god of thunder, Thor. Second generation Overcyn, son of the Valfather.
• Tyr—god of justice.
• the Valfather—king of the Overcyns, Odin. First generation.
Onomastics: possibly “high family,” since Old English cyn means “kin.”
Myth: (Norse) they are largely equivalent to the Æsir, the family of gods in Asgard.
Owan a knight who had died (II, chap. 29, 352). His wife, a Dame, then married a draper. After this second husband died, she wished to resume her title but the neighbors were against it.
Arthuriana: Owain, son of Urien.
Onomastics: (Welsh) Owein, Owen, Owin, Owain, meaning “young warrior.”
khazneh
knights
L
lamiae
ler
lothur
lynnet
M
mag
magic helm
marder
mirmir
moonrise
mother
mystery of king gilling’s murder
mythgarthr
n
nastrond
nolaa
nykir king of arms
0
olof
ossar
owan
p
Palamedes see names on the wind.
Papounce one of Beel’s upper servants, in charge of the other servants (I, chap. 47, 293).
Onomastics: Scott Wowra wonders if it might be a playful “papa ounce,” or “father cat,” perhaps alluding to his cat-herding of the servants.
Parka the woman from Kleos who gave Able his bowstring (I, chap. 1, 21). Her cave is between Aelfrice and Mythgarthr (I, chap. 2, 24). Her work with the string (spinning, measuring, and cutting) recalls the three Fates, and the string itself seems to be made up of lives, furthering this association. Parka names him, and when he resists, she penalizes him: “The lower your lady the higher your love” and “You shall sink before you rise, and rise before you sink” (21). Able meets her again through the Room of Lost Loves (II, chap. 22, 261).
Myth: (Latin) Parca, mythic name for the Furies.
Commentary: Norse mythology is very clear that the Æsir have no power over Fate. Wolfe incorporates this by having Fate come from a higher world.
Payn the Earl Marshal’s chief clerk (II, chap. 29, 354). He is the bastard son of Escan, the Earl Marshal, by way of Wiliga, maid of Escan’s mother (II, chap. 36, 431).
Onomastics: Payne means “rustic” (Latin), “pagan” (English).
Pholsung a former king of Celidon, grandfather of Beel and Arnthor (I, chap. 48, 298; 302).
Pholsung
| |
Uthor (Prince)
| | |
Arnthor (Duke) Beel (baron)
|
Idnn
Myth: (Norse) Phol perhaps is Vol, thought to be a fertility god.
Potash teacher of chemistry and physics in America (I, chap. 7, 56).
Pouk Badeye a sailor Able hired at Irringsmouth (I, chap. 15, 102). Able says his age is around twenty when they are near the pass (I, chap. 50, 314). After Able left him the last time, Pouk was important. “He was Master Pouk then, and worked for the king” (I, chap. 31, 197). Ah, but who is the king after Arnthor?
Onomastics: Shakespeare’s Puck, from Middle English pouk (evil spirit, puck, goblin) and perhaps Norwegian Puk (a water sprite).
Queen of the Wood another name for Disiri (I, chap. 9, 73).
Quixote see don quixote.
Qut the leader of the men-at-arms at Redhall (II, chap. 27, 337). His name “sounds southern,” and in fact his mother was from the south.
Onomastics: Old Turkish word meaning “princely charisma,” “grace of heaven,” “blessing.” (Found carved on a stone in runic script.)
Ran a sea goddess known to sailors (I, chap. 17, 115).
Myth: Norse wife of Ægir, the sea-deity. Her name means “plunder.” She drew seafaring men down to herself in the depths. See aegri’s isle for possible connection.
Ravd the best knight Able ever saw (I, chap. 4, 38). He had been Sabel’s squire for 12 years, which suggests that he was at least 24 when he was knighted. He pays Able to guide him through the woods to Glennidam. His shield shows a gold lion with bloody claws (I, chap. 8, 60). Toug thinks his name means “ravisher” (61). Redhall is his manor. The outlaws near Glennidam kill him. Years later and many leagues away, Squire Toug sees a spectral knight near Sir Svon at Utgard, with a golden lion rampant on his helm and a gold lion on his shield, but Svon doesn’t see it (II, chap. 19, 230–31).
Onomastics: likely a variant of the Norse name Raud, meaning “red.” (Note that Ravd’s manor is Redhall and his shield’s lion has red claws.) Historically, there was a Raud in Northern Norway who, as a worshiper of red-bearded Thor, was put to death by Olaf Tryggvason (Davidson). See also rowd.
real Able, the the brother of Bold Berthold, whom Disiri switched with Arthur. Bold Berthold in Jotunhome says that Able was taken from Mythgarthr, was gone for many years, but returned the same age as when he had left (I, chap. 66, 403). Mag tells of how her son the real Able visited her on the Isle of Glas.
The real Able is probably in America, taking Arthur Ormsby’s place. Sir Able has a number of dream-like episodes that might be snippets of the real Able’s experience there. In one, he wakes up searching for a machine gun (I, chap. 19, 122); in another, he wakes up in a hospital, a hero who saved a plane from hijackers (125); in a third, he thinks about “how I used to live in a place where there were swords and no cars” (I, chap. 20, 133). Most chillingly, there is the dream-vision of the crowded highway where Sir Able sees an ambulance and knows that the real Able is in it, and he wants to help him, but he cannot (II, chap. 38, 459). It seems as though the real Able in America joined the military, became a hero against hijackers, and likely met his end in that ambulance after another heroic act.
Onomastics: obviously the name is an indicator of ability, but it also has a haunting link to Abel, the younger brother of Cain. Abel was a shepherd, Cain was a farmer, and God seemed to favor Abel’s sacrifices more than Cain’s sacrifices, so Cain killed Abel. (Another tradition has it that a woman was involved. This forms a tenuous link to Geri.) A further intriguing detail is that the name Cain might come from an Arabic word for “smith” (and The Wizard Knight is rich with smith-related mythology). Still, even though Bold Berthold has a mysterious head wound that might be a “mark of Cain,” there is no indication that he killed the real Able. Besides, since Able does not really become “Arthur” in Mythgarthr, there is little reason to suppose that the real Able in America would suffer the fate of Abel.
Realm of the Dragon the Lothurling’s name for their empire (II, chap. 38, 453).
Red Tijanamir the old Caan’s first-born son, whose fate foretold was that he would reign but die young, crushed by a stone. At the death of his father, he became the new caan. Shortly thereafter he removed his helm to wipe his brow and a slingstone killed him (II, chap. 37, 443).
Redha
ll Ravd’s manor (I, chap. 4, 38). It is located on the War Way and its neighbor is Goldenlawn. Duke Marder promises it to Able (II, chap. 23, 288). From Redhall to Kingsdoom is more than one week of travel for Able’s group (Gylf, Wistan, Pouk, and Uns), but Able, Cloud, and Gylf could have covered it in one hour (II, chap. 28, 348).
River Battle the climactic battle where Able calls up Aelf archers and Arnthor kills the Black Caan with the Aelf sword (II, chap. 40, 469).
River Road the main road inland from Irringsmouth (I, chap. 2, 26). It runs along the north bank of the Irring.
Rober of Greenglory the fourth knight bested by Able at halberts (II, chap. 30, 369). He is among the five who stay through to the end of Able’s fight against Loth (II, chap. 32, 391), and he later fights alongside Able at the River Battle.
Onomastics: (French) modern form of Robert, meaning “bright fame.”
Room of Lost Love “a room that was like another world when you got inside. Sometimes dead people were alive again in there” (II, glossary). A room in Thiazi’s section of Utgard (first mentioned in I, chap. 31, 197; later visited in II, chap. 21, 257).
Round Tower the biggest castle at the Mountain of Fire (I, chap. 29, 179).
Rowd a slave of Logi later owned by Svon (II, chap. 23, 277). The “sound man” (II, chap. 21, 251), he was paired to Gif.
Onomastics: probably from the Old Norse name Raud meaning “red.” See also ravd.
Sabel a dead knight, Ravd had been his squire for twelve years (I, chap. 5, 45). Sabel beat Ravd twice. Once with the flat of his sword because Ravd attacked him. Once with his hands because of something said or not said; Sabel was drunk at the time.
Onomastics: Dutch/German word for “sabre”; also a homonym for sable, the color black in heraldry.
Salamanders the Fire Aelf (I, chap. 3, 35). Uri and Baki are Salamanders.
Sandhill Castle a manor belonging to Leort’s father, it is located far down on the southern border of Celidon (II, chap. 9, 99).
Scatter of the Dragon’s Blood Smiler’s term for Able, as a liegelord or a godling: “You, Scatter of the Dragon’s Blood, are my ultimate ancestor, but let us have also the blessing of the Fox” (II, chap. 39, 465).
Scaur a friendly fisherman in Irringsmouth, who is not much older than newly arrived Able (I, chap. 2, 25). He brings Able to the mainland from Bluestone Island. His wife is Sha. He tells a scary ghost story. Sha’s grandfather lives with them.
Onomastics: Scottish word, from the Icelandic sker, a skerry, for an isolated rock in the sea; later applied to a protruding rock, rocky eminence, or bare place on the side of a mountain. Mentioned in Tennyson’s “Bugle Song” from The Princess: “O sweet and far, from cliff and scaur, The horns of Elfland faintly blowing.”
Sceef Logi’s slave, paired to Alca (II, chap. 23, 277).
Onomastics: close to Saxon legendary first king Sceaf, who in one legend is a child who came over the sea to rule Denmark, and in another legend is a son of Noah.
Schildstarr one of the most important Agrborn, mentioned by Bold Berthold as the leader of the raid on Griffinsford (I, chap. 2, 28; met in II, chap. 12, 135). He weighs two tons (II, chap. 15, 169). After Gilling dies, Schildstarr becomes the new king (II, chap. 22, 266). Later he is killed by Bold Berthold.
Seagirt Thunrolf’s castle (I, chap. 31, 192). The name implies that it is on the coast.
Seaxneat a man in Glennidam who trades with the outlaws (I, chap. 4, 38). His wife is Disira; their baby is Ossar. He is tall, fat, red-bearded, and pigeon-toed (I, chap. 6, 53).
Myth: (Anglo-Saxon) “sword companion,” a god worshipped by the Old Saxons and remembered as ancestor of the kings of Essex.
Setr a dragon with a human father (I, chap. 9, 69). His sister is Morcaine; his brother is Arnthor. He was first born and his mother kept him close (II, chap. 34, 409). He nearly took over Aelfrice, enlisting the Fire Aelf and building the Tower of Glas, but Able is sure that what he really wanted was to conquer Mythgarthr (II, glossary). He controls the Sea Aelf and he often goes by the watery name of Garsecg. He is resisted by the other Aelf clans. See also surt.
Setr might be in two places at once: the dragon in Muspel met by Able and Thunrolf is Setr, who was last seen as Garsecg, dividing his time between Aelfrice and Mythgarthr. Or maybe Setr/Garsecg just goes there for dinner.
Myth: (Norse) Surt or Surtr, a Fire Giant from Muspell who burns earth and heaven; (Egyptian) Set, evil brother of Osiris and Isis.
Sevengates Escan’s castle (II, chap. 36, 425), located five days east of Kingsdoom—or three days if one hurries (428).
Sha a fishwife who is nice to Able at Irringsmouth (I, chap. 2, 25). Her husband is Scaur. She is probably the woman in Irringsmouth who told the story “about a girl who was supposed to get married to an Aelf king and she cheated him out of her bed” (I, chap. 3, 30).
Onomastics: possibly Gaelic “Shae” (from the fairy fort; fairy palace).
Sha’s grandfather tells Able about spiny orange trees (I, chap. 2, 25).
Sheerwall Duke Marder’s castle, near Forcetti (I, chap. 32, 198; seen in I, chap. 42, 259). It is a league away from the port city, at a stronger place (II, chap. 28, 348) to the east (I, chap. 41, 255). Among its structures are the Marshal’s Tower (for Master Agr) and the Duchess’s Tower.
Sif Thunor’s wife (II, chap. 3, 36).
Myth: (Norse) Thor’s second wife, with wonderful golden hair.
Sirona see spell of divination.
Skai the third world, above Mythgarthr, where the Overcyns are (I, chap. 3, 31).
Skathi a giantess of Winter and Old Night (II, chap. 24, 293).
Myth: (Norse) a giantess. A “snowshoe goddess,” she is counted among the Æsir.
Skjaldmeyjar the female giants (II, chap. 36, 434).
Onomastics: (Norse) shield-maidens.
Skjena a girl who lived in Griffinsford (I, chap. 3, 34). Daughter of Uld, she had six fingers.
Onomastics: probably “skittish, shy.” Norwegian skjena means “to run off because of mosquitoes” (of cows); Swedish skena and Jutish skjenne mean “to shy” (of a horse).
Skoel one of two giants (the other is Bitergarm) randomly selected to fight the knights in Gilling’s hall (II, chap. 12, 137). Svon fights Skoel and wounds the giant’s hand. The giants think they have won, but the men rally to press the fight. Svon and Garvaon together kill Skoel just before Gilling is struck (II, chap. 14, 166).
Onomastics: possibly the wolf that chases the sun, skoll, which see.
Skogsalfar learned term for Mossmen (II, chap. 39, 465).
Onomastics: Norse skog is “forest,” so the word means “forest elf.”
Skoll the last knight to bear Eterne before Able (II, chap. 9, 98). He was killed by Grengarm. The mail he wore, found by Able, is blessed. Every fifth ring is gold. This sounds like Beowulf’s armor (see weland).
Myth: (Norse) “treachery,” the wolf that chases the sun through the sky every day. Son of Fenrir.
Smiler the Celidonian term for He Who Smiles, the Dragon Prince (II, chap. 38, 452). “The dragon was Grengarm. His people were Lothurlings” (II, glossary).
Snari the villager of Griffinsford who fed the old man who had told them the Aelf had cursed them (II, chap. 22, 264). The old man spoke of Grengarm, but he was himself Grengarm, or perhaps Setr.
Onomastics: Old West Norse name and nickname meaning “fast, rash, hasty; sharp.”
Son of the Blood of the Skai Dragon Smiler’s title after he follows Able (II, chap. 39, 464).
Son of the Dragon the title for a warrior prince of the Lothurlings (II, chap. 38, 452). Two royal brothers fight. The loser gets the father’s throne; the winner gets the glory of expanding the Realm of the Dragon. The Talking Table tells him which direction to go: north, south, or west, since east is ocean.
Myth: in China, the emperor is the human incarnation of the dragon god.
Southern Realm a generic term for the unnamed kingdom south of Celidon, beyond the Greenflood River. This
region is the source of the name Qut, and home to the herdsman and his family (II, chap. 39, 460–61). It is probably one of the five realms represented by coins in Able’s loot from Jotunland.
It seems that Smiler’s group landed here after sailing over from the land of the Lothurlings. According to Stonebowl, they captured five towns, all well stocked, “and had taken the coast road only after gaining food enough to carry them to next spring” (II, chap. 38, 455). Smiler aims to carve out his kingdom in the south, and Arnthor has sworn to help him in that (456).
spahis Osterling warriors (II, chap. 40, 473).
History: knights of the Ottoman Empire (Ottoman Turkish word sipahi, from Persian sepah, meaning “army”).
Sparreo Able’s math teacher in America (I, chap. 4, 41).
spell of divination in Beel’s attempt at finding what happened to Pouk and Ulfa, he calls out a spell listing three names (I, chap. 59, 362):
• Mongan—an Irish hero.
• Dirmaid—one of the Irish Fenians, a group exterminated in a.d. 277.
• Sirona—continental Celtic goddess, also known as “Dirona” (and possibly “Tsirona”). A healing goddess, whose name means “star.” Frequently depicted with serpents and eggs (Monaghan).
spell to turn ghosts visible Able reads this spell, a list of five names, out of an Aelf book in Escan’s library (II, chap. 29, 354).
• Mannanan—Celtic sea god, riding over the sea in a chariot.
• Mider—Celtic god of the underworld.
• Bragi—Norse god of poetry, consort to goddess Idnn.
• Boe—son of Odin and Rind, he avenged Balder’s death by killing Hoder.
• Llyr—Welsh sea god, father of Manannan. Same as Irish god Lir.
spiny orange the tree much revered by the Moss Aelf, such that they have their revenge upon those who cut one down.
The Wizard Knight Companion Page 7